A Promise Fulfilled
by eternallydaydreaming
Summary: Prompto swore to never take a life again if he could help it but what happens when Prompto is gifted with a new gun?


A Promise Fulfilled

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A/N: Inspired by a comment that was left by LaviBookman, this fic serves as a companion piece following "Piercing Through the Darkness." Fair warning for those who have yet to read "Piercing Through the Darkness" it does contain a major spoiler so read at your own risk if you didn't finish the game. This particular fic also contains a spoiler. Read at your own risk otherwise hope you enjoy it!

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"Whoa! Your apartment is actually clean!"

Noctis turned, shooting a death glare though it did little to scare his friend. Rather Prompto seemed to thoroughly enjoy annoying the young prince. Probably because he was one of the very few who could get away with it and Prompto relished this fact. On the other hand, Prompto did mildly pity Noctis, who never had to lift a finger to do anything for himself. Forcing him to live on his own must have been King Regis's version of baptism by fire to teach the teenager some responsibility and how to rely on himself instead on others.

"I guess Ignis has been here recently…"

"Nope!" Noctis interrupted. His chest buffed up with pride. "I cleaned up myself."

Prompto shot a skeptical glare. "Is it a special occasion or something?"

"Matter of fact, it is."

Noctis cocked his head toward the coffee table in the living room. Prompto's gaze fell upon a rectangular object, cloaked in shiny green wrapping paper. Next to it sat two small cakes coated in chocolate frosting.

"Happy birthday, Buddy," Noctis congratulated with a pat on the shoulder.

Wide eyed, Prompto turned to Noctis in disbelief. "Wh-what? For…me?"

Noctis chuckled at his friend's reaction. "You act like you've never received a birthday gift before." Hi amusement soon faded as he stared into sorrowful blue eyes, which seemed to have longed for…something. Prompto never talked about his parents nor had Noctis ever met them. As far as anyone was concerned, Prompto's parents were nonexistent in his life. The prince's heart broke for him knowing full well what it was like to have a parent too busy to spare time for you.

"Come on," Noctis nudged him and flashed a warm smile. "Why wouldn't I get a gift for my best friend?"

Guiding his friend to the couch, Noctis watched in anticipation as Prompto fingered the smooth paper. Taking a deep breath, Prompto's fingers finally latched into the paper and began demolishing the wrapping until he had a black box in his lap. Like a child, Prompto giddily picked it up and rattled it next to his ear to see if he could identify the mystery contents.

"I wouldn't do that!"

Prompto turned to view a concerned, slightly frightened Noctis cautiously eying the box.

"So it's fragile?"

"To a degree," Noctis warned.

Lowering the box into his lap, Prompto carefully lifted the lid as if it was a bomb waiting to be triggered. Instead he found the most beautiful gift: a sleek, black gun with a polished wooden butt, intricate silver designs, and gold trim. Also contained within was a box of fresh bullets. His fingers itched to finger the intricate designs but denied himself the opportunity. Staring at the gift he refused to pick up the gun.

"I don't understand," the blonde boy faltered. "Citizens…like me…can't have weapons…"

Unleashing a chortle, Noctis slapped Prompto's arm as if he told the funniest joke, leaving the blonde teen befuddled.

"I'm THE prince, remember? I can decide who is allowed to own a weapon and I've decided you can have a gun. Besides, you can't go hunting empty handed."

"Whaaaa…?" Prompto tensed at Noctis's announcement. After several seconds of silence, he managed to stumble out, "I-I…haven't…hunted in years. I-I'll be useless out there."

"If you're as good with that," Noctis nudged his chin toward the gun, "as you are with the arcade gun, I think you'll do fine."

"Arcade guns ain't the same, Bro. Real guns will kickback."

"Ah-ha!" came the victorious exclamation. "So you still know how to use one."

"What if I accidentally shoot you?" Prompto challenged, desperately trying to wiggle his way out of this situation.

"Then you should practice," he retorted stubbornly. "Look, Gladio is forcing me to go out for field training. He's kind of pissed off that I've been slacking lately. Apparently I need a dose of what kind of real dangers exist so he's refusing to do our typical sparring sessions. It'll be way more fun if you tagged along. Please."

He had too much pride to actually do this but Prompto secretly wished that Noctis had curled his lip while begging him to serve as the third wheel. Prompto sighed out his surrender, "fiiine."

. . .

"Why couldn't we have taken one of the cool cars," Prompto pouted as he stared at his reflection. "I wanted to feel the wind blowing through my hair," he added and lightly punched the ceiling.

"Oh pipe down," Gladiolus commanded while keeping his eyes locked on the road. "There's no way the King was giving us one of the convertibles. You can deal with this 'junker.' Who'da thought there was anyone brattier than the prince himself?"

Noctis shot the bigger man the most offended glare, which was completely ignored by the much bigger man. Prompto placed a gloved hand up to hide the smirk tugging at his lips. Another one of the few who could get away with giving his royal highness shit. The teen continued to absorbing in the view beyond the city limits. It had been years since Prompto had seen anything outside the Crown City. They were in the plains. Low lying vegetation blanketed the ground with only a few trees dotting the landscape.

 _Not many hiding spots for predators to prowl though. Not much refuge for us either if things go wrong._

He didn't like it. Cracking his knuckles, Prompto attempted to plan out various escape plans but ran into mental roadblocks as he was not accustomed to this type of terrain. Completely uncharted territory. Oh how he longed for his tall trees to stake out in.

 _No wonder the Nifs insisted on using emotionless MT's._

"We're here," Gladiolus announced as he pulled off to the side of the dirt road. "Move out."

The three men stepped out. A cool breeze softly kissed Prompto's cheek and swept through his hair. As his companions started toward the field, Prompto rested his body against the sleek black sedan with his arms crossed against his chest. The holstered gun weighed down his right hip a bit. His heart raced at the slightly familiar feeling that he spent years trying to forget.

"Hey, Prompto!"

He snapped out of his reverie at Noctis's voice.

"Aren't you coming?"

Prompto shifted uneasily and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Nah, you guys go on. I'll be happy to give you crap about your piss poor fighting techniques when you come back though," he added with a playful wink. Consequently he had to fight back a snicker as he watched Noctis's face fall at the taunt.

"Well if you had kept up with your training you wouldn't have to worry about proving yourself," Gladiolus stated matter-of-factly as he materialized his giant broad sword.

Noctis materialized his own blade and followed his mentor but not without first flashing a pleading glance that seemed to mean "help me" or perhaps "you owe me." Either way, Prompto offered a small wave and a silent well-wishing on the hunt. And oh gods did Noctis need all the well-wishing he could get. While the prince had stellar training during his childhood it was no secret that he resisted fulfilling his royal responsibilities and therefore found ways to escape training and meetings and other such duties expected of a prince. The guy longed for a normal life but damn, normal life might actually get him killed at this rate. Unlike Gladiolus, Noctis's form was sloppy. While he could land some blows none of them landed where it counted. The sabertooths should have been taken out with a swift blow to the back of the neck – exactly like how Gladiolus did, slicing through with one stroke. The prince was blessed to have the ability to warp out of sticky situations. It might be the only reason he can escape with his life. In the meantime, Gladiolus did the two man job of striking down his targets while saving Noctis's ass.

"Yes! Finally," Prompto mumbled out a cheer when Noctis succeeded in his first independent kill of the day. It also happened to be the last in the herd. The young man had no intention of letting his friend live this down. His gleeful grin faded though as he spotted…whatever the hell that giant thing was! Prompto had never seen this ginormous animal, not even in a book. How could someone possibly have missed it? Literally! While it was at a distance where he couldn't accurately gauge its size, it definitely stood taller than a human. It was grey skinned, kind of leathery looking, and no fur. On its snout protruded a horn that branched out to two sharp points. And it was charging toward Noctis and Gladiolus!

"Noct!" Prompt cupped his hands around his mouth to project his voice more. "Get gotta there!"

Using one hand, he gestured at the mobile hazard heading the prince's way, but why the hell was he not moving out of the way. Prompto received his answer when the two men readied their swords.

 _Those boneheads aren't really going to take that thing on, are they?_

As the beast stampeded through, the men sidestepped out of the way and swung their blades only to have them ricochet off the animal's skin.

 _Oh, they're definitely gonna get themselves killed!_

Prompto studied the scene more before confirming his fears. The skin was thick like armor. No way were they going to cut into it. Where would there be a weak spot? Traditionally the underbelly is one exposed, unprotected region, but unless those stubby legs could support his weight standing up, there would be no such opportunity to strike the area. That really left only one logical location – the face, specifically the eye. Unlatching the holster, Prompto whipped out the gun and started racing toward his friends. He needed to be in range to actually hit such a small target, however, not so close as to notify it of his presence. Once satisfied, he held up the pistol (why the hell Noctis thought a pistol was appropriate for hunting was beyond him), aiming at the giant's eye. Yet he hesitated to pull the trigger. Noctis and Gladiolus were too close. One false move and the beast would crush them under his huge mass. Patiently he waited for the right opening. With a sharp whip of its head, it smacked Noctis to the side, skidding him across the grassy surface. Right at that moment, Prompto pulled the trigger and released the bullet. Simultaneously, the force the recoil jerked his arm violently back and sent the projectile on the wrong course. Prompto couldn't even be sure if he actually hit the animal.

"Shit!"

Prompto gingerly rubbed his wrist, not expecting such power from the seemingly simple gun. While nursing his lower arm, he kept watch on the beast as it stopped in its path and surveyed the area. Grunting heavily, the gigantic animal now lost interest in the prince and set its sights on the gunslinger.

"Ah crap…well, at least Noctis is definitely safe now."

Digging its foot into the ground, it lunged forward and charged toward the teenager. Despite the speed the animal ran, Prompto held his ground and repositioned the gun, this time supporting his arm more. Closer it ran. Maintaining his stance, Prompto waited for the last minute to roll out of its reach. He recovered in a kneeling position and pulled the trigger once again. This time the monster's head lurched sideways. The momentum whipped the heavy body to the side and landed with a hard thud. Prompto carefully approached the beast, observing for any signs of life until his gaze fell upon the bloody pierced eyeball. Guilt washed over him as he wondered if the animal felt fear in its final moments.

"You missed?!" came the incredulous accusation from behind him. "I thought you never missed your mark!"

"Excuse me," Prompto retorted. "You didn't tell me that this pistol was on steroids!"

Noctis's eyes widened, a bit stupefied by the response. "You didn't practice using it?!"

"It was just a pistol. Or so I thought. They're not supposed to be complicated…or this powerful."

"Enough, both of you!" Gladiolus's booming voice intervened. "We're done for the day. Just be glad we did make it out alive. And you better start training more, Noct. I will not have a repeat of trying to save your sorry ass again."

Gladiolus turned his back before he could see the massive eye-roll the prince responded with. With a heavy snort, Noctis headed back toward the car, keeping a distance behind Gladiolus like a child throwing a tantrum in public. Before returning to the car, Prompto turned and took one last look of the carcass.

 _I'm sorry it had to end this way but our lives depended on me taking you down. My only regret now is that all of your perfectly good meat is being left to rot instead of making Ignis cook it._

Releasing a reluctant sigh, Prompto turned toward the car and holstered his gun. Giving the gun a light pat, a grin tugged at his lips as he wondered when the next hunt was.


End file.
